ASSOCIATES (vol. 7 no. 3, March 2001) - associates.ucr.edu
The Challenge of Learning Disabled Patrons
by
Gail Shank
Reader Services Librarian
Curry College
gshank@curry.edu
Picture this: you are in the international airport in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and you need to find your flight out of the country. The signs and words surrounding you make no sense, are totally foreign and seem like gibberish. You contemplate turning around and running out the door. But you know that you must locate the flight information, purchase your ticket and board the plane, or you will lose your reservation and be in serious trouble.
For many learning disabled patrons this situation is not uncommon. Of course, they are not in Uzbekistan; they are in the library. What would you most like to see in Tashkent Airport? Your answer would probably be, "A friendly face". Those with learning disabilities are looking for exactly that in the library.
The Levin Library at Curry College in Milton, MA (near Boston) deals with a student population that is 40-50% learning disabled, because of a special program that attracts LD students nationally and internationally. PAL, the Program for Advancement of Learning, is the college's support program for students at Curry who have language-based learning disabilities. Students in PAL pay an additional fee for being in PAL; they meet regularly in one-to-one and small group sessions with a PAL instructor who is a learning specialist with a Master's degree in special education (or the equivalent). Basically, PAL students are there to become aware of their particular learning strengths and apply them in the learning process.
We know we are fortunate here at Curry to have an entire department that works with and advocates for LD students. Even if your institution does not have such a specialized program, there are many approaches you can take that will benefit both your staff and this unique population.
Behaviors to Expect
What are some of the learning disabilities we encounter in the library?
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Visual perceptual problems - such as dyslexia - difficulty with reading/ writing; dyscalcula - difficulty with calculating and math. Includes problems finding a face in the crowd, finding keys on a crowded desk, picking out one line of print from the other lines on a page, seeing letters/numbers reversed, recognizing different shades of similar colors.
- Auditory perceptual problems - difficulty with accurately interpreting information gathered through the ears, differentiating between similar sounds, concentrating, picking up the main message. Includes such problems as being unable to hear the telephone ring when listening to the radio; hearing "nine-four" instead of "four-nine"; hearing "treats" instead of "street"; hearing "th" for "f", or "seventeen" instead of "seventy"; or hearing an angry rather than a joking voice.
- Motor/Directional problems - involve getting lost or getting places on time. Includes such problems as clumsiness, awkward or stiff movements; trouble learning from observation or copying off a blackboard; handwriting is hard to read; trouble following verbal directions, taking notes in a lecture or dancing to a rhythmic beat. Trouble distinguishing left, right, north, south, east or west; difficulty learning layout of a large building.
Paths to Success
You can imagine how challenging a library can appear to students with these problems. What have we found is most important when working with LD students? A change in priorities! We have discovered that the person most skilled at finding reference sources is not necessarily the person most skilled at working with LD students. As a group, library staff are usually linear sequential learners, and have chosen a profession where they find pleasure in quickly locating the best source of information. However, to work with LD students it is imperative to form a new goal - insuring a successful library experience and instilling feelings of trust and confidence. LD students often have had very negative library experiences, and are expecting more of the same. If you have already been harassed, confused and ridiculed at the Moscow airport, you will feel twice as anxious and tense as you approach the airport in Uzbekistan.
There are some basic rules that we follow, which have worked well for us at Levin Library.
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Everyone has some degree of a type of learning disability. Most of us are not crippled in our everyday life by them. However, we all work better in an environment made more user-friendly. We have learned that the types of changes and accommodations we have made with our LD population in mind are very beneficial to all patrons. Ask your LD students what they need, and what they find difficult. Then sit back and watch all your patrons rejoice in the changes you make. Where it is not possible, because of confidentiality issues, to identify those with learning disabilities, ask any student, and try approaching all patrons as though they are lost, confused travelers in a foreign airport.
- It is necessary to provide scheduled one-on-one reference help when it is requested. We have a program called R.A.P. (Research Assistance for Papers), which allows a student to make an appointment with a reference person for an hour of help finding material for their papers. While it may seem that staffing would be a problem, actually most times a student does not need the full hour, and it is also possible to work with two students at once during a R.A.P. We ask them to fill out a form when they are requesting the R.A.P., and the librarian at the desk will often get them started at that moment if the question is not difficult. For most students, knowing that R.A.P. exists at all is almost more important than our insuring them a full hour of our time. In other words, it is possible to diminish impact on the staff in a number of ways, and the payoff is big. Incidentally, our Masters students here request R.A.P. as often as undergraduates, if they have not taken classes in a number of years.
- It is necessary to have someone available to leave the reference desk and walk with the student to the material. "Point and shoot" reference seldom works with an LD population. If you are designating one person to be available for this, they should wear a nametag that makes clear their willingness to help with special problems. They should be approachable, inspire trust, and be able to recognize a person who has just landed in Uzbekistan.
- Minor but important tips: many LD students use books on tape if they cannot process written language unassisted. Learn what type of tape player they use (it is often a 4-track) and have one available with earphones. Also, do not give the entire "package" at once when a student asks a question. Start the student with a small portion of what they need, and tell them to check back with you when they are ready for more. Listing off all the books, databases, web sites, etc. at once can be overwhelming and may send the student out the door. Remember, too, that clear, non-jargon signage will help students move confidently through the library. Finally, if the student has that "deer in the headlights" look, take a few moments to learn their name, ask where they are from, or find some way to indicate that you see them as an individual with whom you are happy to work, rather than just a question needing an answer.
- Set boundaries. Know your limits and make them known to the student. Many learning disabled students have developed survival behaviors that include manipulating others, being highly verbal and charming, or exhibiting "learned helplessness" to avoid decision-making. Tell them how much time you have and suggest they make an appointment; be clear about the kind of support you can offer them and refer them to appropriate additional student services if necessary. Be friendly but firm.
- Be prepared for brilliance. This population is not stupid. They have roadblocks to communication that belie their intelligence. With patience, consistency, encouragement and a sense of humor you can provide a pathway that helps evoke excellence.
Benefits and Joys
With some reasonable accommodations, more and more LD students are able to enter college and experience success. They bring with them high energy, creativity, interpersonal skills, sensitivity, loyalty, intuitiveness, warm hearts, gratefulness, and unbelievable tenacity. They have faced their fears and conquered them with style. In our experience LD students bring a special pleasure to the librarians who help them succeed in learning the library language, and moving confidently out into the world.
There are a multitude of books and articles on learning disabilities. Following are some interesting web sites that provide some basic information and links:
National Center for Learning Disabilities
<ncld.org>
Teens Helping Teens
<www.ldteens.org>
LD Online <www.ldonline.org>
